When the Academy Awards are handed out March 12, one of Hollywood’s most confounding contradictions will be on display. The Oscar for Best Documentary will go to a film that few Americans have seen or even heard of. Yet, at the same time, streaming audiences are embracing documentaries in unprecedented numbers, creating a boom for the misunderstood genre.
What is a documentary? Among international producers, and a few domestic outlets such as PBS, it remains a form of journalism with an implied pledge that the content is accurate and compiled at arm’s length from its subjects. For streaming services, however, documentaries are increasingly undisciplined, highly commercial products for which celebrities are well paid and their precious footage treated with care.
One of the mostwatched documentaries ever, the recent “Harry & Meghan,” totaled 81 million viewing hours in just its first four days. Yet, the New Yorker’s critic said, “Viewers may find themselves wishing for a more rigorous and investigative exposé.” CNBC noted, “few difficult questions asked and a lack of critical voices throughout.” That’s hardly surprising considering that the documentary was produced by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s own company, Archewell, as part of an overall deal in which Netflix paid the couple a reported $100 million.
